Progress Declaration of the International Migration Review Forum

A/RES/76/266View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda items 15 Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields and 119 Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit, published in 2021.

What other versions does this mandate have?

2 versions · 2022–2026

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/258

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2026	A/RES/80/258	Progress Declaration of the International Migration Review Forum	5,188	21%Compare
2022	A/RES/76/266	Progress Declaration of the International Migration Review Forum	6,189	–

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

4 entities

(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited
Subprogramme 5	Population	30
Subprogramme 6	Population and development	12
Subprogramme 6	Social development	47
Subprogramme 1	Countering transnational organized crime	61

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

4 entities

(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
Subprogramme 5	Population	30	—
Subprogramme 6	Population and development	12	—
Subprogramme 6	Social development	47	—
Subprogramme 1	Countering transnational organized crime	61	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report · 2024

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2024	A/79/590	Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/76/266

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 subjects

Covid-19 Declarations (Text)International Cooperation International Migration Migrants Sustainable Development

What’s in this document?

1 operative paragraph

Endorses the Progress Declaration of the International Migration Review Forum, adopted by the Forum, as contained in the annex to the present resolution.

Progress Declaration of the International Migration Review Forum

We, the Heads of State and Government and High Representatives, meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 17 to 20 May 2022 at the first International Migration Review Forum, convened under the auspices of the General Assembly, determined to enhance cooperation on international migration in all its dimensions, to discuss and share progress on the implementation of all aspects of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration,¹ including as it relates to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,² and with the participation of all relevant stakeholders, have adopted the following Progress Declaration.

¹Resolution 73/195, annex.

²Resolution 70/1.

Introduction

We reaffirm the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, also known as the Marrakech Compact on Migration, and recall General Assembly resolution 73/195 of 19 December 2018, by which it endorsed the Global Compact, as well as General Assembly resolution 73/326 of 19 July 2019 on the format and organizational aspects of the international migration review forums.

We also reaffirm that the Global Compact is based on a set of cross-cutting and interdependent guiding principles: people-centred, international cooperation, national sovereignty, rule of law and due process, sustainable development, human rights, gender-responsive, child-sensitive, whole-of-government approach and whole-of-society approach.

We are determined to fulfil the objectives and commitments outlined in the Global Compact, in line with its 360-degree vision, guiding principles and comprehensive approach, by facilitating safe, orderly and regular migration, promoting the contributions of migrants at all skills levels to sustainable development at the local, national, regional and global levels, within the framework of the 2030 Agenda, and reducing the incidence and negative impact of irregular migration.

We acknowledge our shared responsibilities to one another as Member States of the United Nations to respect each other’s needs and concerns over migration, and we recognize that all migrants, regardless of their migration status, are human rights holders, and reaffirm the need to protect their safety and dignity, and the overarching obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, regardless of their migration status, without any kind of discrimination, while promoting the security, well-being and prosperity of all our communities.

We reaffirm the importance of international cooperation to facilitate safe, orderly and regular migration, including through the implementation of planned and well-governed migration policies in line with international law.

We recognize the positive role and contributions of migrants for inclusive growth and sustainable development in countries of origin, transit and destination, including by enriching societies through human, socioeconomic and cultural capacities.

We commend the positive role and contributions of millions of migrants in responding to and recovering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, including as essential workers, and remain deeply concerned that the pandemic has had a severe and disproportionate impact on migrants, including through increased COVID-19 exposure, discrimination, violence, job losses, wage theft, protracted family separation, and restricted or lack of access to health-care services and other basic services, including vaccines, social protection, education and child services, and being subjected to unsafe and undignified returns.

We recognize that as many as 281 million people were international migrants in 2020 globally, of whom 48 per cent were women and girls and 15 per cent were under the age of 20, and that remittances are a critical source of support for families and communities, with migrants having transferred over 751 billion United States dollars in remittances in 2021 to their countries of origin.

We recognize the value and dignity of the labour of all migrant workers in all sectors, emphasizing the importance of promoting fair labour conditions and decent work and upholding international labour standards, and, in this regard, we also recognize the work of women migrant workers, including in paid and unpaid care work, domestic work and the informal economy, and emphasize the need to ensure that they are legally protected against violence, harassment and exploitation.

We are concerned that a growing number of migrant children, including those who are unaccompanied or separated from their parents or primary caregivers, are particularly vulnerable along their migration journey, and reaffirm our commitment to protecting the rights of the child and upholding the principle of the best interests of the child.

We are concerned about the impact of financial and economic crises, poverty, health emergencies and food insecurity on international migration and migrants, as well as sudden-onset and slow-onset natural disasters, the adverse effects of climate change, and environmental degradation, such as desertification, land degradation, drought, floods, water scarcity and sea level rise, taking into account the potential implications for migration and migrants.

We recognize the importance of creating conducive political, economic, social and environmental conditions for people to lead peaceful, productive and sustainable lives in their own country and to fulfil their personal aspirations, and, in this regard, declare our profound solidarity with and support for migrants caught up in situations of crisis in countries of transit and destination.

We reaffirm our collective responsibility to preserve the lives of all migrants and take action to prevent loss of migrant lives and, in this context, remain deeply concerned that thousands of migrants continue to die or go missing each year along perilous routes on land and at sea, in transit and destination countries, with reports of more than 8,436 migrants having lost their lives and 5,534 migrants having gone missing in transit globally from 2019 to 2021.

We condemn acts, manifestations and expressions of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance against migrants and diasporas and the negative stereotypes often applied to them, including on the basis of religion or belief.

We are concerned about the risks, including for migrants, associated with irregular migration, smuggling of migrants and crimes against migrants, which continue to pose significant threats to the lives and well-being of migrants, and which require a concerted international assessment and response and strengthened multilateral cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination.

We take note with appreciation of the regional reviews of the implementation of the Global Compact and the reviews of progress at the national level, including, on a voluntary basis, the elaboration and use of national implementation plans and the mainstreaming of the Global Compact in plans and legislation, drawing on contributions from and the meaningful participation of all relevant stakeholders, including migrants, as well as parliaments and local governments, in line with a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.

We recognize the work of the Global Compact Champion countries and the Friends of Migration group, including their initiative to share insights, lessons learned and promising practices in support of the implementation of the Global Compact, such as the Rabat Declaration adopted during the first ministerial meeting of the Champion countries on 25 March 2022.

We take note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General of 27 December 2021 on the implementation of the Global Compact,³ and its guidance for the deliberations during the Forum, including policy priorities for consideration by the Forum.

³A/76/642.

We recognize the work of the United Nations Network on Migration in support of the implementation of the Global Compact, including the establishment of the capacity-building mechanism, which comprises the migration multi-partner trust fund and the Migration Network Hub.

Progress, challenges and gaps in the implementation of the Global Compact

We recognize the many efforts and the progress made and the good practices that have emerged in implementing the Global Compact and in realizing our collective goal of advancing safe, orderly and regular migration, and in the response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, by national and local governments, the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, migrants, diasporas, civil society, local communities, migrant and diaspora organizations, faith-based organizations, academia, the private sector, parliamentarians, trade unions, national human rights institutions, the media, humanitarian actors, volunteers and other relevant stakeholders.

We are concerned that progress achieved in facilitating and harnessing the benefits of safe, orderly and regular migration is slow and uneven in many areas and that the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped many aspects of international migration and negatively impacted progress, and created new, and exacerbated existing situations of vulnerability for migrants. Greater efforts are needed by Member States to develop ambitious national responses for the implementation of the Global Compact. We recognize that challenges and gaps in the implementation of the Global Compact exist and may be due, in part, to limited resources and national capacities, as well as insufficient coordination within and between Governments, and with relevant stakeholders.

We recall that in General Assembly resolution 73/326, Member States decided to cover all 23 objectives of the Global Compact in four round tables during the Forum.

Round table 1 (objectives 2, 5, 6, 12 and 18)

Progress has been made in mainstreaming international migration into development plans and sectoral policies at the local, national, regional and global levels, as well as in climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies and policies. Progress has also been achieved in the conclusion of bilateral and regional labour migration agreements, efforts to simplify administrative procedures related to migration and actions to prevent and reduce situations of vulnerability faced by migrants, in particular those in an irregular situation, including by facilitating their access to regular status, the formal economy, the labour market and basic services in line with national legislation. However, the availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration remains limited in many cases.

Progress has been made by Member States, the private sector and other stakeholders in promoting fair and ethical recruitment and decent work for migrant workers, international labour standards, ensuring respect for and protection and fulfilment of human rights, and reducing or banning recruitment fees and strengthening labour inspection capacities. The use of digital technologies during the pandemic has increased, which contributed to the effectiveness and transparency of migration procedures, while also raising concerns about the digital divide for many migrants as well as challenges related to upholding migrants’ right to privacy and the protection of personal data.

Progress has been achieved in facilitating recognition of academic and vocational qualifications and skills of migrant workers and returning migrants.

The adverse effects of climate change, environmental degradation and natural disasters are among the drivers of migration, which are influenced by economic, social, political and demographic contexts. Efforts to mitigate and adapt to the adverse effects of climate change have been insufficient, including in climate finance, as acknowledged by the twenty-sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and as part of the Glasgow Climate Pact. The responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and the negative impact of climate change and systemic shocks have laid bare the gaps that remain in anticipating, preparing for and responding to events that might trigger large movements of migrants.

The lack of mutual recognition of skills and qualifications of migrants limits their potential, the benefits they can gain from their labour as well as their contributions to sustainable development, and leaves migrants vulnerable to exploitation. Many migrant workers, especially women migrant workers, continue to face precarious working conditions, wage theft, labour exploitation, reduced wages, discriminatory dismissals, withholding of benefits, forced unpaid leave and protracted separation from their families, which have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. In many cases, migration procedures lack predictability and allow for high levels of undue discretionary action, undermining the rule of law and due process.

The lack of access to quality education and economic opportunities, and inadequate investment as well as underdevelopment are among the key drivers that compel young people to leave their countries of origin in search of better opportunities. Therefore, it remains crucial to promote sustainable development, generate employment, bridge the digital divides and empower youth to fully participate in their societies.

Round table 2 (objectives 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 21)

Stakeholders have developed guidance for the development of transnational search mechanisms, promoting cross-border operational cooperation and information-sharing, and the establishment of other internationally coordinated efforts on missing migrants. Observatories have been established to collect migration data, and progress has been achieved in curbing the incidence of smuggling of migrants and in improving the capacity of Member States to identify networks of migrant smugglers and their organizers, and in identifying and responding to the needs of migrants in this regard.

There are increasing efforts by Member States to foster cross-border collaboration for the prevention of trafficking in persons, the investigation and prosecution of human traffickers, and to provide assistance and safe access to services to victims of trafficking in persons. Efforts are being made to modernize border-crossing points, including by simplifying procedures and upgrading infrastructure and equipment, to reduce immigration detention, including by implementing non-custodial alternatives to detention in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some Member States have taken steps to end child immigration detention, advancing efforts to protect and respect the best interests of the child. In response to the challenges posed by the pandemic, some Member States temporarily suspended forced returns and expanded assistance to returning migrants. Some Member States have supported reintegration and recognized the opportunity to leverage the skills and knowledge acquired by returning nationals. Nevertheless, challenges remain in all of these areas.

Progress has been made in issuing migrants, including unaccompanied and separated children, with adequate documentation and civil registry documents. However, challenges remain regarding international cooperation on identification of nationals and issuance of travel documents, as many Member States still lack robust civil registration systems or the capacity to issue identity and travel documents. Migrants continue to face risks throughout the migration journey, owing to a lack of proof of legal identity, insufficient access to information or lack of predictability in migration procedures. Some policies, practices and conditions associated with immigration detention, including arbitrary deprivation of liberty, overcrowding and poor access to basic services have affected the physical and mental health and well-being of migrants, as well as child development.

Migrants continue to struggle to access and receive humanitarian assistance, including search and rescue efforts and medical care, which creates and exacerbates situations of vulnerability. Limited progress has been made in distinguishing the activities of smuggling networks from the provision of assistance of an exclusively humanitarian nature for migrants along perilous routes and in other situations where their life or safety is in danger. In many cases, the provision of such assistance has been considered unlawful.

Travel restrictions imposed by countries of origin, transit and destination as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic have created and exacerbated situations of vulnerability faced by migrants, and challenges for return and readmission, in many cases, including through insufficient efforts to manage national borders in an integrated, secure and coordinated manner that respects obligations under international law. In some cases, Member States have forcibly returned migrants with insufficient regard for health risks or due process and procedural safeguards, including the best interests of the child. Travel and other restrictions, including border closures and lockdowns, as well as capacity limitations, constrained the return and readmission of migrants who wished to return.

Safe and dignified return, readmission and sustainable reintegration in full compliance with international human rights law have proven to be difficult and complex in many cases. Conditions for more predictable travel have deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Limited progress has been made in enhancing bilateral and international cooperation to determine clear and mutually agreed procedures that uphold procedural safeguards and guarantee individual assessments and legal certainty.

Poverty, inequalities, economic exclusion and violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, which have increased during the pandemic, are among the key risk factors of trafficking in persons, especially for women, children and young people. The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated access to, and the provision of, support to victims of trafficking in persons. In some instances, public health considerations were used to justify detention or unlawful deportation. Member States also faced practical challenges in ensuring alternatives to detention with full respect for human rights, particularly with regard to providing adequate living conditions and access to gender-responsive and people-centred services for migrants.

Round table 3 (objectives 14, 15, 16, 19, 20 and 22)

In some cases, consular support has been strengthened through “one-stop-shop” virtual mechanisms, regional and subregional coordination and consular cooperation. The COVID-19 pandemic has also given rise to strengthened consular cooperation between States to protect their nationals and to assist them, including in the safe, voluntary and dignified return of migrants. Efforts have also been made in building the capacity of consular services. Several consular services implemented virtual service delivery to improve accessibility in the context of reduced in-person service.

Efforts to provide equal and safe access to affordable basic services, including access to health-care services and vaccines, to all migrants, regardless of their migration status, as well as efforts to provide all migrants with access to unemployment benefits and adequate social protection, without risk of arrest, detention and deportation in the context of international migration, have been essential in the effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular at the local level.

Progress was also made in promoting inclusion and social cohesion, including through language training and improved access to professional training, employment, education, and social inclusion and protection measures, as well as through community awareness campaigns, based on equality, non-discrimination and ways to promote mutual respect for the cultures, traditions and customs of communities of destination and of migrants, including acceptance of diversity.

Progress was achieved in the provision of health-care services, including mental health services, and psychosocial support and assistance to those impacted by the pandemic, including through efforts of diaspora networks and communities that set up humanitarian initiatives and digital platforms. Progress was also made in the recognition of the human, cultural, social and economic capital that diasporas bring, as well as their engagement and remittances in national development strategies, and in programmes to improve the financial inclusion and literacy of migrant workers and their families.

At the same time, many migrants and their families struggle to gain safe access to basic services, such as health-care services, despite being disproportionately exposed to COVID-19 owing to their living conditions and their employment in essential jobs. Migrants were often not systematically covered by COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccination policies and programmes as well as pandemic-related socioeconomic support and recovery measures, despite their loss of jobs and income. Safe access to basic services, social protection or recovery assistance often remained limited to migrants with a regular status, while migrants with irregular status remained in a situation of vulnerability.

Many countries declared remittances to be essential services and eased regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic, facilitated greater digitalization, offered incentives and abolished or waived transaction fees. However, the cost of transferring remittances remained at 6.3 per cent during the third quarter of 2021.

In addition to remittances remaining resilient, the pandemic has offered lessons to improve the remittance market, including by expanding the use of digital channels, promoting innovation, competition and transparency, reducing transaction costs and increasing digital and financial inclusion. However, there is an uneven distribution across Member States of digital remittance channels, which depend on sound infrastructure and on digital and financial inclusion. Many migrants, in particular migrant women, lack access to financial services and mobile-enabled data, even though they often rely on receiving remittances to support themselves and their families.

Despite the fact that some Member States concluded and implemented bilateral and multilateral agreements to foster the portability of social security entitlements, coverage and portability of such entitlements remain limited owing to exclusion, barriers to eligibility, lack of implementation of existing frameworks and limited cross-border cooperation.

Round table 4 (objectives 1, 3, 7, 17 and 23)

Progress has been made in improving the collection and use of disaggregated migration data, including through the establishment of migration data and knowledge centres and observatories, such as the African Migration Observatory,⁸ as well as the promotion of bilateral and regional exchanges and initiatives on migration data.

⁸The African Migration Observatory is an organ of the African Union established pursuant to decision Assembly/AU/Dec.695 (XXXI) of the Assembly of the African Union.

During the pandemic, many Member States, including local governments, as well as civil society organizations and other relevant stakeholders launched awareness-raising initiatives and translated COVID-19-related information into multiple languages to help to improve migrants’ access to information and health-care services.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some Member States have taken action to reduce situations of vulnerability for migrants, including by providing them, regardless of their migration status, with access to COVID-19-related and other health-care services and vaccinations, by extending visa and residence permits to avoid migrants falling into an irregular status, by halting forced returns and by establishing cross-border coordination mechanisms. Many Member States and relevant stakeholders, including diaspora communities, have taken steps to combat discrimination, racism, violence, xenophobia and related intolerance against migrants by sharing examples of migrants and communities working together to make the places where they live and work more inclusive. Many Member States and stakeholders cooperated in relation to implementing the Global Compact, including by developing and strengthening bilateral, subregional, regional, interregional and global dialogues and initiatives, such as bilateral labour migration agreements and regional migration observatories.

Gaps in data collection and analysis persist, in many cases, owing to outdated, incompatible or inadequate sources and systems for high-quality, accessible, timely, reliable data collection and disaggregation by income, sex, age, race, ethnicity, migration status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts, as well as limited digital capacity. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated challenges in data collection, in particular with regard to the 2020 round of population censuses, which are a key source of migration data.

Systematic instances of intolerance, xenophobia, racism and all other multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, as well as instances of racial, ethnic and religious profiling of migrants, misinformation and stigma against migrants, especially Asians and people of Asian descent, as well as Africans and people of African descent, and persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities remain widespread, including misleading narratives that generate negative perceptions of migrants, falsely associate migrants and diasporas with disease or criminal activities, heighten anti-immigrant sentiments and promote violence against migrants.

The funding of the migration multi-partner trust fund has been insufficient to meet the strong demand from Member States and stakeholders to support the implementation of the Global Compact.

Recommended actions to accelerate the implementation of the Global Compact and to strengthen international cooperation on international migration

We commit to building on promising practices to harness the benefits of safe, orderly and regular migration, including those that emerged in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to providing all migrants with safe access to basic services, regardless of their migration status, as well as continuity of care, COVID-19 vaccinations, testing and treatment in line with universal health coverage, to ensure that no one is left behind in achieving the 2030 Agenda. In this context, we commit to promoting the meaningful participation of migrants in policy discussions on issues affecting them, including in the COVID-19 response and recovery.

Building on the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and realizing that there is a need to prepare for future health emergencies, we aim to integrate promising practices, consistent with the Global Compact and its guiding principles, into migration policies. In this regard, we commit to accelerating efforts, at all levels, to integrate public health considerations into migration policies and incorporating the health needs of migrants in national and local health-care services, policies and plans, in ways which are transparent, equitable, non-discriminatory, people-centred, gender-responsive, child-sensitive and disability-responsive, and which leave no one behind.

Recognizing that migrants are integral to our societies, we commit to promoting their meaningful contribution to policy development, delivery and reviews, and recommit to fostering inclusive and cohesive societies, by strengthening the provision of information, support and services, which contribute to migrants’ integration.

We commit to eliminating all forms of discrimination, including racism, systemic racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, stigmatization, hate speech, hate crimes targeting migrants and diasporas as well as negative stereotyping and misleading narratives that generate negative perceptions on migration and migrants, including by reviewing, developing and implementing relevant legislation, policies and practices and promoting evidence-based public discourse, inter alia in partnership with local authorities, migrants, diaspora communities and the media, bearing in mind the role of migrants as agents of sustainable development and as rights holders. We also commit to protecting freedom of expression in accordance with international law, recognizing that an open and free debate contributes to a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of migration.

We commit to respecting, protecting and fulfilling the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, including those of women and children, regardless of their migration status, and to addressing international migration through international, regional or bilateral cooperation and dialogue and a comprehensive and balanced approach, recognizing the roles and responsibilities of countries of origin, transit and destination in promoting and protecting the human rights of all migrants and ensuring that their legislation and migration policies and practices are non-discriminatory and consistent with their applicable international human rights obligations, in order to avoid approaches that might create or aggravate situations of vulnerability for migrants.

We commit to developing national gender-responsive and child-sensitive migration policies and legislation in line with relevant obligations under international law to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of all migrant women and children, in particular girls, regardless of their migration status. In this regard, we stress the importance of ensuring the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in the formulation and implementation of migration policies, while recognizing their independence, agency and leadership.

We commit to respecting, protecting and fulfilling the human rights of all migrant children, regardless of their migration status, including unaccompanied or separated migrant children, ensuring that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in all actions concerning children in our legislation, policies and practices, including those related to integration, return and family reunification. We will consider, through appropriate mechanisms, progress and challenges in working to end the practice of child detention in the context of international migration.

We will enhance international cooperation, especially by actions that accelerate the realization of the 2030 Agenda, including the Sustainable Development Goals, through a revitalized Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, with the aim of eliminating the adverse drivers and structural factors that hinder people from building and maintaining sustainable livelihoods and fulfilling their personal aspirations, and so compel them to leave their country of origin.

We will strengthen our efforts to enhance and diversify the availability of pathways for safe, orderly and regular migration, including in response to demographic and labour market realities, and for migrants in vulnerable situations, as well as those affected by disasters, climate change and environmental degradation, including by working coherently across all relevant multilateral forums, concluding labour mobility agreements, optimizing education opportunities, facilitating access to procedures for family reunification through appropriate measures that promote the realization of the right to family life and the best interests of the child, and regularizing migrants in an irregular situation, in line with national laws. In this regard, we commit to providing migrants with access to information pertaining to their rights and obligations during all stages of migration, including information on fair and ethical recruitment, skills, qualifications, entry and exit requirements, living and working conditions, wages and benefits, and access to justice and services, among others.

We commit to strengthening our efforts to take legislative or other measures to prevent, combat and eradicate trafficking in persons, including forced labour, in the context of international migration, including by intensifying bilateral, regional and international cooperation to investigate, prosecute and penalize trafficking in persons. We further commit to ensuring the effective identification, protection of and assistance to migrants who have become victims of trafficking in persons, not conditional upon cooperation with the authorities against suspected traffickers, including by providing access to gender-responsive and child-sensitive measures for their physical, psychological and social recovery and reintegration, facilitating access to justice, and avoiding the criminalization of migrants who are victims of trafficking in persons for trafficking-related offences.

We commit to intensifying joint efforts, including through international cooperation between countries of origin, transit and destination, to prevent and counter the smuggling of migrants, in full respect for human rights, by protecting the lives and human rights of migrants, ensuring safe and effective access to justice for migrant victims of crime and ensuring that migrants do not become liable to criminal prosecution for the fact of having been the object of smuggling, notwithstanding potential prosecution for other violations of national law, as well as by combating the criminal activity and ending the impunity of smuggling networks, which put the lives of migrants at risk, and by enhancing pathways for safe, orderly and regular migration.

We commit to strengthening our efforts to cooperate for safe and dignified return and to guaranteeing due process, individual assessment and effective remedy, including by upholding the prohibition of collective expulsion in accordance with our obligations under international human rights law, and to ensuring that our nationals are duly received and readmitted, in full respect for the human right to return to one’s own country and the obligation of States to readmit their own nationals, and we will accelerate our efforts so that returning migrants are assisted in their sustainable reintegration process through effective partnerships.

We commit to enhancing cooperation to address violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, and harassment against women migrant workers in line with our obligations under international law and relevant labour standards, and to eliminate situations of vulnerability for women migrant workers by promoting decent work, such as minimum wage policies, by facilitating safe and effective access to justice, and by protecting and supporting victims and survivors of all forms of violence, including harassment.

Recognizing the foundational role of proof of legal identity in fulfilling the objectives of the Global Compact, such as enhancing access to regular pathways, preventing and reducing statelessness and facilitating safe and dignified return, as well as sustainable reintegration, we commit to accelerating efforts to ensure that all migrants have proof of legal identity and adequate documentation and that our nationals have non-discriminatory access to proof of nationality and other relevant documents, including by strengthening identification procedures and documentation systems, including through digitalization efforts, as well as consular capacities and cooperation, including through technical assistance and bilateral or regional agreements.

We aim to develop and implement transparent, safe and predictable arrival procedures on land and at sea for all migrants, including procedures for rescued people, promoting responsibility-sharing in providing a place of safety, in accordance with international law obligations at borders and along migratory routes, and to develop and implement procedures and agreements on search and rescue of migrants, with the primary objective of protecting migrants’ right to life, that uphold the prohibition of collective expulsion, guarantee due process and individual assessments, enhance reception and assistance capacities, and ensure that the provision of assistance of an exclusively humanitarian nature for migrants is not considered unlawful.

We commit to continuing our efforts to facilitate the mutual recognition of formally and informally acquired skills and competencies acquired by migrants, including by issuing documents to this effect as appropriate, supporting the skilling and reskilling of migrants and returning migrants, promoting decent work opportunities, enhancing international cooperation to allow for the recovery of earned wages, benefits and entitlements of returning migrants, and promoting the sustainable reintegration of returning migrants by providing them with equal access to social protection and services.

We commit to redoubling our efforts to reduce the average transaction cost of migrant remittances from 6.3 per cent of the amount transferred during the third quarter of 2021 to less than 3 per cent by 2030, including by adopting digital solutions for faster, safer and cheaper remittances, promoting digital and financial inclusion and accelerating access to transaction accounts for migrants.

We invite relevant subregional, regional and cross-regional processes, platforms, dialogues, forums and organizations, including the United Nations regional economic commissions and regional consultative processes on migration, in reviewing the progress made in the implementation of the Global Compact at all levels, to consider ways to enhance cooperation related to its full implementation, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders and in line with a 360-degree vision.

We will integrate migration as a cross-cutting issue in national development plans, development cooperation and other relevant frameworks, and through the voluntary elaboration of ambitious and inclusive national implementation plans, in line with a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, and expand international cooperation and partnerships to implement the vision of the Global Compact, including through financial and technical assistance to developing countries, especially to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing States and middle-income countries.

We request the Secretary-General, in his next biennial report, to propose, for the consideration of Member States, a limited set of indicators, drawing on the global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda as contained in General Assembly resolution 71/313 of 6 July 2017 and other relevant frameworks, to assist Member States, upon their request, in conducting inclusive reviews of progress related to the implementation of the Global Compact, as well as to include a comprehensive strategy for improving disaggregated migration data at the local, national, regional and global levels.

We commit to continuing to strengthen national capacities, including for data collection, and international partnerships to realize the vision laid out in the Global Compact, including through the capacity-building mechanism, and we encourage Member States and stakeholders to submit good practices, lessons learned and challenges to the Migration Network Hub Repository of Practices, and to consider making financial contributions to the migration multi-partner trust fund.

We take note with appreciation of the efforts of the United Nations Network on Migration in strengthening enhanced system-wide coherence and guidance in support of the implementation of the Global Compact and the realization of our collective goal of safe, orderly and regular migration and call upon the Network to cooperate with Member States and relevant stakeholders to strengthen collaboration, peer learning, engagement and linkages at the global, regional, national and local levels.

Building on the pledging initiative of the Network, we welcome pledges made by Member States and relevant stakeholders in the lead-up to the Forum and encourage further pledges. We also request the Network to provide support to Member States and relevant stakeholders in their implementation of their pledges, upon their request. We further encourage States to include these pledges and their implementation in their submissions of voluntary national reports.

We commit to further aligning the implementation of relevant commitments and objectives from the Global Compact with those under the 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development,⁹ the Paris Agreement¹⁰ and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030¹¹ and relevant internationally agreed instruments and other existing frameworks, as appropriate.

⁹Resolution 69/313, annex.

¹⁰See FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1, decision 1/CP.21, annex.

¹¹Resolution 69/283, annex II.

We commit to strengthening the linkages between the Global Compact, the 2030 Agenda and their review forums and to giving due consideration to the progress, challenges and gaps in implementing the Global Compact in the elaboration of our voluntary national reviews of progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, as appropriate. We encourage the President of the Economic and Social Council to invite the Coordinator of the United Nations Network on Migration to report on the linkages between the implementation of the Global Compact and the 2030 Agenda during the high-level political forum on sustainable development, and encourage relevant subsidiary bodies of the General Assembly and of the Economic and Social Council, in accordance with their respective mandates, to contribute to the review of the implementation of the Global Compact.

We request the Secretary-General, with the support of the Network and other relevant actors, to include actionable recommendations on strengthening cooperation on missing migrants and providing humanitarian assistance to migrants in distress, including by collaborating with humanitarian actors, in his next biennial report, with the aim of preventing loss of life in transit.

We request the President of the General Assembly to hold a plenary meeting of the General Assembly in the second half of 2024 in order to consider the next biennial report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Global Compact, as well as the outcomes of the regional reviews, presented by the Coordinator of the Network, and for Member States and stakeholders to present, on a voluntary basis, progress in implementing the pledges they have made in the context of the Forum.

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